When you speak to any SaaS manager about their biggest business challenges, they’ll likely tell you it’s customer retention. Losing customers is costly. In fact, acquiring a new customer can be 5 to 25 times more expensive than retaining an existing one.
Beyond offering a high-quality product and competitive pricing, one effective way to retain customers is by ensuring that your product knowledge base is up-to-date and relevant. Knowledge base software features enable self-service for customers, reducing their reliance on direct support.
Gone are the days when tech support teams had to walk digitally challenged customers through simple processes over the phone. With millennials and Gen Z now comprising almost half of the population, these generations are digital natives who have grown up with smartphones in hand. They don’t want to be bothered.
You may have the best support team in the world, but if your customers have to speak with them, then in a sense, you've already failed. When they can order coffee through an app and pay without a cashier, the last thing they want is to spend valuable time calling your SaaS company for tech support.
Customers not only enjoy using their own devices, but about 70% of them actually prefer self-service options on your website. In fact, 90% of companies in 2016 were competing on customer experience, and the point is simple: If you cannot maintain a healthy product knowledge base, you cannot provide what your customers want.
But before diving into the deep end, there are a few things you need to understand first. To maintain a well-organized internal knowledge base for your product, you must choose the right knowledge base software. This will help you deliver excellent customer support, reduce churn, improve SERP rankings, and lower start-up costs!
Here are seven essential features of knowledge base software:
Lightning-fast Knowledge Base
As you may have noticed, customers today seem to lack patience. In fact, the average attention span is shorter than that of a goldfish. As a SaaS provider, you already know your website needs to be fast. If your page load time exceeds three seconds, most customers will abandon the page. Every second of delay online equates to 15 minutes in the real world. So, ensure your knowledge base portal is just as fast, so customers can find the answers they need without frustration.Powerful Search Engine
A critical feature of knowledge base software is a good search engine. While you might have organized your content into categories and subcategories, few people are going to navigate through these manually. Users will likely turn to the search bar first. To meet their expectations, your knowledge base should incorporate a search engine that can deliver results quickly, even with thousands of articles.User Feedback and Analytics
Remember, the content in your knowledge base should not be static. In fact, you should be constantly updating and editing it. Your knowledge base software needs to include a crucial feature that allows you to easily add content, ensuring your customers are never left wanting more. One of the best ways to make sure your knowledge base is comprehensive is to ask your customers for feedback.Clean User Experience (UX)
When it comes to reducing customer churn, UX is closely tied to customer experience (CX). Your knowledge base should provide a simple and organized user experience that aligns with your website’s brand and design. The search functionality should be fast, and the answers should be logically structured and easy to find.Content Creation Tools
A streamlined content creation process is essential. You should look for knowledge base software with a simple text editor and an easy way to add visuals. The editor should be minimalistic, so your team can focus on creating content without distractions. Simple yet effective tools can make the content creation process much more enjoyable for your team.Enterprise-Level Backup
Imagine you’ve spent weeks or even months adding content to your knowledge base, only for an employee to accidentally delete it all or make an irreversible mistake. Your precious knowledge base content could be lost forever. This is why it’s crucial to choose software that offers enterprise-level backup and restore options.Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
You already know that optimizing your knowledge base with SEO practices—such as filling in keywords and search terms—is essential to improving your site’s ranking. However, if your knowledge base software isn’t SEO-friendly, all your efforts could be in vain. Ensure your software supports SEO-friendly URLs, generates sitemaps, and lets you add meta titles and descriptions for better search visibility.
Additionally, around 45% of companies that provide self-service customer support report increased traffic and fewer phone calls. Using the right knowledge base software for your SaaS product can work wonders for your SEO rankings and enrich your customer experience.
Be sure to choose wisely. Look for software that includes robust search engines, customization options, collaboration tools, and backup solutions. Make sure it allows you to collect user insights and provides a seamless, enjoyable user experience. Investing in software that consistently supports your work while incorporating built-in SEO best practices will ensure long-term success.
Start creating! Your customers, support team, and accountants will thank you.
